Emotional Intelligence and Professional Identity in Athletic Trainers

Emotional intelligence and professional identity have been associated with increased quality of work, increased productivity, and personal and organizational success. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and professional identity in athletic trainers. We used a cross-sectional survey (demographics [six items], Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale [16 items], and Professional Identity and Values Scale [20 items]) of 345 certified athletic trainers (age = 38 ± 12 years; female = 218, 63.2%; secondary school setting = 143, 42.3%; years of experience = 14 ± 12 years). There was a moderate, positive correlation between composite scores from Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and Professional Identity and Values Scale (.541, p < .001). A regression demonstrated that age was the only predictor of emotional intelligence ( r = .110, p = .003).